After helping to establish the Photo Club at Frenship High School, Flournoy and Hutchison talked with Amy Thomas, the photography teacher, about what they envisioned for this new club. Thomas wanted the girls to investigate community service projects, stating, “If we’re going to have a club, we have to give back in one way or another.” Flournoy and Hutchison came back with an idea to take portraits of the residents at Villa of Wolfforth retirement home.  

They felt that the residents of retirement homes and nursing homes don’t have pictures made anymore and their families would love to have professional images of their loved ones. Thomas also felt they would gain valuable experience working in the photography industry. Flournoy contacted the director of Villa of Wolfforth retirement home and asked if they could come out to take professional portraits of the residents. 

Flournoy and Hutchison coordinated with Villa of Wolfforth to set up the date and time, gathered all the necessary equipment, set up the photography station for the residents and took their portraits. Thomas attended the session with the girls for moral support and to answer any questions that may have come up.  

“These girls did a phenomenal job,” said Thomas. “They were sweet and patient with their elderly clients, very professional with the staff of the retirement home and seemed to really enjoy the process.” 

After the photo shoot, the girls edited and cropped the photos so that they were ready to print. After the printing process the girls delivered four 5x7 prints of each resident to the retirement home for them to share with their families. The staff at the retirement home were so pleased and grateful for the care and attention given to the residents.  

“It was great to see what a big difference we could make in the residence with what little we had,” said Flournoy. “What a big of an impact of simply taking photos of the residence had on them and their families.”

“Seeing their smiles was heartwarming,” said Hutchison. “They were asking if they were going to be able to send the photos to their families for Christmas.”

After some research into what other opportunities were available to photo club Thomas discovered a Skills USA service project competition. Flournoy and Hutchison will use this service project to compete in the district Skills USA Community Service competition this spring.